Prejudice alleged at Wachusett

HOLDEN — Allegations of religious prejudice in the classrooms of Wachusett Regional High School have a parent calling for diversity training for teachers and staff.

Asima Silva, whose daughter, Maimoona, 17, was a student in Honors Chemistry last year, said that Maimoona expressed concerns about how her teacher treated her in class. Mrs. Silva said Maimoona reported not being called on and having a feeling that she did not exist for the teacher.

Mrs. Silva, who was born in India, came to the United States as a child. The family are practicing Muslims, and Maimoona wears the Islamic head covering, the hijab. She is currently a senior, but attends only a few classes at the high school. Her mother said she chose to be home schooled after being harassed by her peers in middle and high school.

Mrs. Silva said Maimoona experienced prejudice during the last school year, including a situation that occurred during a chemistry lab period in April, when the teacher was talking to several other students and made the comment, "She should move to India and become a Muslim."

When the teacher turned and saw that Maimoona had heard the comment, she told Maimoona that the comment was not about her. Mrs. Silva learned about the comment the day it happened and immediately reported it to school principal William Beando, who conducted an investigation.

Mr. Beando declined to discuss the specifics of the incident or the outcome of his investigation, saying that he did not want to manage the student-teacher relationship. He declined to answer when asked if the teacher had been disciplined.

Mrs. Silva met several times during the summer and into the fall with Mr. Beando, interim superintendent Anthony Gasbarro and deputy superintendent Darryll McCall. She said she was not satisfied with the school's response, and that neither the school nor the district administration accepted the comment as prejudiced.

"If the prejudice is coming from the teachers, it condones it for the students," Mrs. Silva said.

Mrs. Silva said that after multiple attempts to convey the gravity of the situation, she asked Chris Robarge of the Worcester Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union to come to meetings at the school. Mr. Robarge began advocating on behalf of Mrs. Silva and Maimoona after school year ended in June.

Mrs. Silva has requested that diversity training be conducted in the school district, to make teachers and administrators aware of common American stereotypes of Muslims and the inaccuracies they contain.

Mr. Robarge said that while the ACLU does not do diversity training, he agreed it would be helpful for the school district and asked Mrs. Silva to identify an organization that would provide the kind of training she felt was needed at the school. She identified the Islamic Networks Group, a California-based nonprofit that fights prejudice toward American Muslims through education.

ING offers a two-hour seminar designed for school leaders that it says addresses common stereotypes and fosters an inclusive learning environment for all students. Mrs. Silva and Mr. Robarge have been trying to arrange for the seminar to occur during the superintendent's monthly meeting with principals and central office staff, but have been met with resistance.

Mr. Gasbarro said the ING seminar is too narrowly focused.

"We thought it was the ACLU that was going to do the training," he said. "We want training that is more than just this one group."

Mr. Beando said he was in favor of all diversity training, saying it would be helpful regardless of the topic.

Mr. Gasbarro said he would like to see the training address the needs of transgender students and students who are struggling with sexual orientation issues as well.

Mr. McCall, who is in contract negotiations with the school committee to become the district's next superintendent, said he was not aware of any transgender students who have experienced discrimination. He said he agreed with Mr. Gasbarro's assessment that the ING training was too long for the monthly administrators' meeting, but said he was hopeful he would be able to resolve the issue when he took over as superintendent.

"It's hard, when the diversity does not occur naturally," he said. "What I am looking for is something where we can train the trainer, and the principals can bring it back to their teachers, who can bring it to their students."

According to the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education website, during the 2012-2013 school year, the Wachusett district was 89.6 percent white, 2.9 percent Asian, 1.3 percent African American, 4 percent Hispanic and 2.2 percent multiracial, American Indian or Native Hawaiian.

Mrs. Silva said she does not object to having multifocused diversity training, but said the Muslim perspective needs to be specifically addressed.

"I would welcome other training," she said. "But since this issue is based on inaccurate information about Muslims, I would like that issue addressed.

"I have not found anything that incorporates all groups into one training. Perhaps they could piggyback something else on top of this," she said. "This is an issue that is only going to get bigger, and it seems like it is growing, and not getting any better."

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